Introduction
Considering the fact the samurai warriors today are virtually non-existent, would samurai sword warriors still exist? In fact, who is a samurai swords expert? How important is a sword to a samurai warrior? We all know the various stories and folklores about samurai warriors. Some are even able to boast of being related to a samurai warrior. But not everyone is sure about who exactly samurai warriors are or if they even existed. This will be briefly discussed in this article. Then we will discuss how samurai swords expert are relevant to us today (if they exist).
What do we know about being a samurai?
To begin, we will have to have an understanding of who exactly a samurai warrior is. Fun fact, “Samurai” was a hereditary title. So when a samurai warrior has an heir, the heir begins his training as soon as possible (around age 10). Some even say that the sons are given wooden swords to use during their childhoods.
The young boys drop these swords beside themselves when they go to bed to be able to improve their fighting skills. The samurai rose to prominence in the 10th century CE in Feudal Japan. There they maintained prominence till about the 19th century CE when they became scarce. However, from the 17th century, the samurai took up more advisory roles. It was around this period that the samurai code of Bushidō became more prominent.
Another interesting fact about the samurai warriors that people tend to forget is that they were relatively expert marksmen. Yes, they knew how to use bows and arrows. People tend to forget this because the image of a samurai is almost always linked to swords. Swords were the ideal weapons of choice in samurai society. The swords carried by samurai warriors became their identifying marks.
Only a samurai warrior was permitted to have two swords strapped to himself. It became a badge of honour of sorts. The samurai had a long sword and a short sword. The long sword was used in battles and traditional one-on-one challenge matches. While the short sword was used in close quarters combat as well as the ritual suicide act of seppuku. The most used long sword was the slightly curved katana. While the short sword was known as the wakizashi. The swords were so vital to the samurai society that swords were said to contain the souls of the samurai.
Samurai Swords Expert
To this end, a samurai swords expert was highly valued. A samurai swords expert was one who could forge a reliable blade for a samurai as well as assess existing blades. These masters could be referred to as swordsmiths. The swordsmiths made use of unique methods in folding, forging and quenching of the samurai swords. So yes, the samurai swords experts existed.
They still exist until today. Various appreciators of swords and related arts enjoy their work. The samurai swords expert still makes use of ancient smithing methods. This way, they preserve the aesthetic and noble spirit of the samurai sword.
